Rallies are planned for Tuesday in at least two major cities as protesters continue to demand the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose arrest President Donald Trump said is the first of many.
A “Free Mahmoud Khalil” walkout was scheduled to take place at 11:30 a.m. at Columbia University in New York City, but a person with knowledge of the situation said efforts were being made to shift it to off-campus spaces. An event is currently scheduled for noon at City Hall and a march at 2 p.m. is planned at Washington Square Park.
Another rally is planned for 5:30 p.m. at Federal Plaza in Chicago. Protesters are also expected to gather at 5 p.m. at Stanford University in California.
Khalil, a Columbia graduate, was arrested Saturday at his apartment by federal immigration agents who told him that his student visa was being revoked, his attorney Amy Greer has said. He’s being held at an immigration detention facility in Louisiana.
Greer said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were told that Khalil has a green card and is a permanent resident, but he was arrested anyway.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman temporarily blocked Khalil from being deported, saying he will remain in the United States as the court weighs challenges to his arrest and planned deportation.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, but Khalil won’t be present, his legal team said.
Thousands gathered in New York City’s Foley Square Monday, to protest the detention of Mahmoud Khalil.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said his arrest was in coordination with ICE and the State Department in support of Trump’s “executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism” and because Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Trump and his administration did not provide evidence of the allegations against Khalil.
Last spring, he helped organize protests at the university about the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Trump said on Truth Social that Khalil’s arrest was the first of many to come. In a post Sunday on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would revoke the visas and green cards “of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
Greer said the comments made by Trump and government officials show the illegality of Khalil’s arrest.
“He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment,” she said in a statement Monday night. “
“While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so,” Greer added. “The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail.”
Hundreds of protesters rallied Monday at Federal Plaza in Manhattan, with some holding signs that read “Release Mahmoud Khalil.” One protester, a 71-year-old resident from Brooklyn, said the arrest was an attack on free speech.
“It’s getting ridiculous,” the protester said.
Greer said she talked to Khalil, and he was in good spirits and appreciative of the support. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, pleaded to have him by her side before the birth of their baby.
“For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby,” she said in a statement released by Greer.
She called him her “rock,” and said everyone who has met him “can attest to his incredible character, humbleness, selflessness, and his love for helping others.”
“I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world,” she said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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